Cartoon cataclysm

Shane Acker’s end of days adventure 9
is beautiful, but doesn’t raise the bar

ANIMATED APOCALYPSE: 9

by CHRISTOPHER SYKES

Clocking in at a mere 72 minutes—minus credits and the like—there is little time to waste for director Shane Acker in his post-apocalyptic, cautionary animated feature 9. Expanded from his silent 11-minute 2005 Academy Award-nominated short of the same name, Acker opens the film with four very ominous words before the viewer is introduced to the remains of a once-great city now bereft of life: “We had such potential.”

The lone “survivors” of the cataclysm are a handful of intelligent rag dolls who have been created by a genius scientist after it is clear that mankind is doomed. For reasons unknown, the most advanced of the lot, 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood), comes to life much later than his eight predecessors. Venturing into the bombed-out abyss, 9 runs into the paternal 2 (Martin Landau), who explains the lay of the land. Man fought machine with fire and metal, and slowly the world fell silent.

To make matters worse, the war-mongering machines are still kicking around in the rubble and making life miserable for the poor little stitch-heads. In fact, immediately after explaining the backstory, 2 is swept away by a hulking, dinosaur-esque baddie and 9 must rendezvous with the others to plan a rescue mission.

Writer Pamela Pettler (who penned Corpse Bride) takes a not-so-subtle swing at organized religion through the character of 1 (Christopher Plummer), who has installed himself as sceptre-bearing ruler in the remains of a cathedral. Ruling by fear, 1 embodies the “let’s wait this whole thing out” approach taken by the Vatican during Hitler’s rampage across Europe. It takes the courage of 9 for the others to mutiny and start fightin’ the good fight.

Produced by the master of foreboding animation himself, Tim Burton, 9 is nothing if not visually stunning, which is what one expects when Burton lends his name to a big ticket project. That said, there is something missing here, and the main reason for that may well be the elevated bar for post-apocalyptic CG flicks in the post-WALL•E universe. Be warned that it’s probably too scary for kiddies under 12, too.

9 OPENS THIS FRIDAY, SEPT. 11